Photo created May 2013 and taken by Sgt. Amanda Tucker in Fort Bragg, NC as part of a project to raise awareness about the Veterans Crisis Line.
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are partnering on the nation’s only suicide prevention conference focused on service members and veterans. This May, DOD and VA personnel from across the nation will convene online at the 2021 DOD/VA Suicide Prevention Conference to further the development of effective, innovative suicide prevention strategies. The suicide rate among active-duty troops increased in 2019, according to a Pentagon report, and Army officials worry that stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may push figures higher in 2020.
“Our Departments are working tirelessly together to prevent suicide. It is our obligation—to those in uniform, our veterans, their families, and to one another—to make sure our people know they are not alone, support is within reach, and we are ready to help. This conference is invaluable for the DoD, the VA, and other experts from across the nation to learn and share suicide prevention strategies and programs, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
-said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III briefs the press from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2021. (DoD Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders).
“This conference is invaluable for the DoD, the VA, and other experts from across the nation to learn and share suicide prevention strategies and programs, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
The 2021 DOD/VA Suicide Prevention Conference is guided by the Department of Defense Strategy for Suicide Prevention and the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide, which outline the agencies’ public health approaches to preventing suicide in military and veteran populations. This year’s theme – Make Every Connection Count: Putting the 7 Strategies for Suicide Prevention to Work – promotes a comprehensive approach to prevention, which uses evidence-informed programs, tools, and practices to foster connectedness, increase coping and problem-solving, create protective environments, and strengthen suicide care, among other efforts.
Information regarding efforts of the Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Office can be found at www.dspo.mil. To learn more about the efforts of VA’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, visit www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention.
Service members and veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a service member or veteran in crisis, can call the Military Crisis Line/Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, text to 838255 or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.”
